Quietly Before the Swarm
by Darkpurplelighter
Summary: Sodapop and Ponyboy have both been grounded by Darry for a week. It's the summer, they're bored and full of energy...things are bound to get a little crazy. Now featuring other characters and developing plot.
1. Cooped Up

XXXXX

Bored…

Bored…

Bored…

Sodapop repeated that same word in his mind in between throwing a football up in the air and catching it as he sat on the couch in the living room of the Curtis house. The first three days of being grounded hadn't been so bad. He had an excuse to leave the house…his job at the DX gas station. It was straight there and straight back as Darry had ordered but at least he could still get out of here for a little while.

Unfortunately the new schedule had been posted and Soda had the rest of the week off. It was now Saturday, his third straight day of being cooped up in the house and he still had one more day to go before his punishment was over. He was close to pulling his hair out at the thought of it being so close, yet so far.

He still thought Darry's punishment; one week of being grounded was a little harsh. You would have thought that no one had ever accidentally driven threw a guy's fence during a drag race before.

The only thing that was stopping him from going completely crazy was that Ponyboy too had gotten in trouble and grounded, so he had some company. He had been caught along with Johnny sneaking into the Nightly Double. Apparently Dally's old trick of going under the fence to avoid paying had finally been found out.

The two of them hung out for hours the two previous days, playing an indoor game of football, listening to the radio, cooking up weird things in the kitchen, and yes they did go outside but never past the front porch. Pony was handling the predicament a lot better since his hobbies included reading and drawing. Hell, Soda even gave drawing a chance the other day and it wasn't so bad but he couldn't do for hours on end like Pony could. He just didn't have the attention span.

He wanted to be out, he hated being inside all day. It just wasn't for him, outside was where all the action was. Then at that moment he thought about Steve, his partner in crime and wondered what he was planning to do for the weekend.

Just then, Ponyboy came out of his room. Like he said, Pony had been handling it better but looking at him now Soda could tell he was tired of being in the house just as he was. He was probably thinking about Johnny and Two-Bit and what they were up to. It was still summer and there were plenty of things to do.

"Maybe I should call Steve and ask him to drop by for a little while." Sodapop said to himself out loud.

"No friends over, Soda." Ponyboy said as he sat down in the recliner. "Darry said so."

"Darry said so." Soda responded in a mocking voice. "Darry would only find out if you told."

"What if he comes home early and sees Steve here? He could ground you for more days, and probably blame me too."

Soda sighed as he looked at the clock. It was a little past twelve. He then reached up and grabbed his DX hat that was sitting on the coffee table and pulled it over his head.

"So, any ideas on what we can do today?" Soda then asked.

Ponyboy looked around as he thought about. He had been though every book that was worth reading and knew Soda wasn't about to crack open a book. The two of them had pretty much done everything there was to do.

"Not really." He finally answered.

"What a big help you are."

"Hey, I don't here you comin' up with anything."

"Shut up." Soda playfully responded as he tossed the football at him. "You're supposed to be the smart one."

Ponyboy didn't respond to that as he grabbed the remote and flipped on the television. There wasn't anything particularly good on and he finally settled on some news channel. Soda didn't pay any attention to it as he layed down on the couch and wiped a little bit of sweat from his brow. Pony lit a cigarette and offered one to his brother who declined. He knew he wasn't supposed to smoke in the house, but Darry wasn't home so he felt it didn't matter.

"Hey, go make me something to eat." Soda then spoke.

"Go make it yourself." Pony responded.

"Come on, Pony. Show your older brother the respect he deserves."

Pony couldn't help but grin a little as he got up and headed to the kitchen. He then realized just how hot it was in here, even with the windows open. Then at that moment he got an idea. He grabbed a cup and filled it up with water before slowly walking back to the living room. Soda was paying him no mind for a moment before looking up at him and seeing the look on his face. That grin meant he was up to no good. He should know, his little brother picked it up from him.

"What are you doing?"

"Showing you the respect you deserve."

After that, Ponyboy took the cup and threw the contents right into Soda's face before he could have a chance to move. Soda sputtered at sat up and rapidly wiped at his face with the sleeve of his shirt which was drenched as well. He obviously wasn't mad, and to be honest the cold water felt good in his heat he was more surprised as he looked up at Pony who was now laughing.

"You little shit!"

The cigarette fell from Ponyboy's mouth as he quickly took off running as Sodapop leaped off the couch in pursuit. Pony tried to make it to his room but couldn't close the door as Soda tackled his legs and they began to roll across the floor, wrestling.

"How do you like that?" Soda asked as he locked his brother in a headlock. Ponyboy elbowed him the ribs, not hard enough to really hurt but enough for him to get out of the hold. He quickly jumped on Sodapop and the wrestling continued.

Soda managed to push Ponyboy off him who then quickly jumped on his bed and grabbed a pillow. Swinging it like a baseball bat, Pony made contact with Soda's head and it knocked him loopy for a moment before he grabbed a pillow of his own and returned the favor. The two of them continued beating each other with the pillows as their 'fight' spilled back into the hallway. They were getting feathers everywhere but they really didn't seem to notice as they battered each other.

The pillow brawl reached the kitchen as they continued swinging wildly at each other, feathers flying in every direction as they made contact. Soda swung but hit the phone instead which fell to the floor with a loud bang but the brothers ignored it as they continued on back to the living room.

Ponyboy finally nailed Soda in the groin with his pillow causing his older brother to groan but surprisingly it didn't even slow him down. He reached out and pulled the pillow from Pony's grip and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him up and carrying him over to the couch before slamming him down.

The air was knocked out of Pony and then again as Soda jumped on top of him and held his shoulders down, making him unable to move.

"Holler uncle." Soda commanded.

"Nope."

"Fine, I ain't getting up until you do."

Ponyboy continued to squirm under him but just then a loud commercial came on the television causing Soda to take his attention away from his prey. It was the opportunity Pony needed as quickly lunged up his lower body up causing Soda to fly head over heels off him and on the floor. Ponyboy quickly pulled off the couch cushions and threw them at Soda before getting to his feet, only to be tackled right into the recliner which tipped over, sending them both to the ground.

They continued wrestling around on the floor, rolling and rolling until they bumped into the coffee table which had the lamp on it. The lamp fell over and broke into pieces which caused the brothers to stop for a moment, look at each other and then continue.

Ponyboy was finally able to gain the advantage as he sat on Sodapop's back and twisted his arm behind his back.

"Ready to give up?"

Soda gritted his teeth but didn't respond, he knew how to use his larger size to his advantage and was able to get out of it and pull Ponyboy over and underneath him. Unfortunately for Pony, Sodapop knew his weakness and began took full advantage of it.

"Ack! Soda, you're cheating!" Ponyboy yelled out in between laughs as Soda tickled his sides and ribs.

"I didn't see any rules." Soda responded as he continued. Ponyboy grabbed onto his hands and managed to buck Soda off of him and began returning the favor, knowing he was ticklish as well. The two of them were getting tired but refused to give in to the other when suddenly a smell got their attention.

"What is that?"

"Something's burning."

The two of them then looked over and saw the rug had smoke coming off it as a tiny fire had been started from the cigarette that had landed there.

"The rug is on fire!"

The fire alarm then began going off as they both jumped up and ran to the kitchen, getting two glasses of water that they quickly poured over the fire which luckily put it out.

"Darry's gonna kill me." Pony muttered. It really wasn't that bad, it could have been a lot worse as Soda looked over the burn that it was now in the rug. He then shrugged and tried to make light of it.

"Well, I guess it's going to be another week for you, little buddy."

"What? Maybe I'll tell him that it was your fault."

"You were smoking! How is it my fault?"

"You ran after me-"

"What the hell is going on here!" Another voice boomed causing Sodapop and Ponyboy to jump and then turn around to see Darry standing in the doorway, a look on his face that held both anger and disbelief.

The house was a wreak. There were feathers everywhere, the cushions to the sofa were off, the lamp was broken, furniture had been turned over...Darry took a deep breath and began shaking his head. Maybe keeping the two of them cooped up in the house together wasn't the best idea.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

Neither could respond. They both looked around the house, Soda looked down at his feet and saw one of the managed pillows and slowly bent down to pick it up. He stared at it for a moment before flinging it at Darry's head.

It bounced right off and the three of them stood in there silence. Nobody moved or spoke…Ponyboy was wide eyed as he couldn't believe that Soda just did that. Darry just looked at his brother, his face stern and emotionless as what looked to be a staring contest was now taking place. Just a few seconds later...

Darry's façade finally cracked and a held back smile appeared on his face as he slowly shook his head. He then picked up the pillow and threw it back at Soda with more force.

"You two get this mess cleaned up."

Darry walked to the bathroom to take a shower as he overheard Sodapop and Ponyboy arguing and blaming each other. He laughed a little to himself when he closed the bathroom door...with brothers like them life sure never got boring.

XXXXXXX

Author's note-

This is going to be a one-shot, however if you liked it and want to see two of your favorite Outsiders characters go at it in a similar fashion, (example: Darry and Ponyboy or Dally and Johnny, etc) leave it in the review section and I'll be happy to write it and continue on. You can be as specific as to what you'd like to see happen as well…just throwing it out there.


	2. Strung Out

_Author's note-The story goes on and I'm going to try to make this an actually story with a plot instead of just a series of one-shots. I saw all the suggestions for two characters to 'fight it out' and I'm going to try to come up with an idea for each of them. BTW, if you are going to suggest a pairing, please just put ONE._

_Anyway, this is for AlongTheBinding who asked for a Johnny/Two-Bit chapter._

XXXXXX

Laying on his bed with a Rolling Stones song blasting on the radio, Two-Bit was going through an 'adult' magazine trying his best to enjoy his last day of freedom as his mom had made him get a job at a nearby diner as a bus boy. He couldn't believe it, he was going to have a job starting tomorrow…and to be honest none of his friends could believe it either. The only good thing was that the job didn't start until the afternoon and went to the late hours on the night. He still had his mornings to sleep in.

Putting his magazine to the side, Two-Bit got up to leave his room. Going down the steps he reached the living room and saw that his guest wasn't here…but he had a pretty good idea of where he was.

Johnny had been staying at his house ever since the trial ended. It was the least he could do and he and his mom had been trying their best to make him feel at home. He had been through a lot over the last year. Honesty, he had been through a lot almost all his life.

Two-Bit's mom was a supervisor at a department store and also was receiving alimony and child support for his seven year old sister Karen from her ex-husband, (Two-Bit refused to think of him as his father.) So financially, they were a lot better off then his friends. It actually made Two-Bit feel a little guilty sometimes, especially when he thought of the Curtis's.

Anyway, back in the fall Johnny had to kill a soc in order to save Ponyboy's life. After that they went on the run and were gone for a full week. They hid out in a church which somehow caught fire when little kids where in it. He and Ponyboy risked their lives to get them out and during the course of it Johnny got hurt when a beam landed on his back.

He had to have surgery on his back and was in the hospital for nearly six months. Obviously his parents couldn't afford to pay for it so he got financial aid from the hospital and they wrote off his bills. It was certainly a hell of a nice things for them to do and they all had appreciated it.

After he was good enough to be let out, he was arrested for the murder and quickly put on trial. Ponyboy, that girl he liked Cherry, and that other boy, Randy all testified that it was self defense and luckily Johnny had gotten off. It certainly was a nail bitter for all of the gang, he was pretty sure Pony chewed his all the way to the nub.

As Two-Bit thought about all that, he reached the door to the backyard and went outside. Sure enough, Johnny was leaning up against the house and looking up at the sky. It was getting late which meant the sky was turning all different kinds of colors as the sun was slowly going down. Johnny had made it a habit of watching the sunset ever since he moved in.

"Hey buddy." Two-Bit greeted. "I gotta go to work tomorrow, I can't believe it…my mom got me a job. It's gonna be slave labor I'm tellin' ya."

Johnny smiled a little and nodded but didn't respond.

"I missed Ponyboy the other night. He would have had a good time with us."

Since they got caught sneaking into the Nightly Double they had to go to a new theater. Two-Bit flirted with the ticket girl while Johnny snuck in and opened the back entrance for him. Even after he said that, Johnny again didn't respond and Two-Bit could tell that something was bothering him.

"What's with you?" He asked.

"I got my schedule for classes this year." Johnny sighed took it out from his pocket and unfolded it. "I don't know if I want to go back."

Due to the amount of school he missed, Johnny was going to have to repeat the tenth grade while Ponyboy was moving on to the eleventh. But it wasn't just that, everyone knew that Johnny had killed Bob…he knew he was going to get the 'that's him' looks from the other students and probably even teachers.

Johnny really didn't have to worry about the socs. Ever since the rumble things finally settled down…no more jumpings, no fights, the two groups pretty much left each other alone. Maybe the death of Bob made things too real. It made everyone realize that this wasn't a game.

But Two-Bit was sure Johnny was still concerned about them possibly coming for him for revenge. With that scar on his cheek, he wasn't sure he could blame him.

"I think you should go." Two-Bit finally answered. "I know it's crazy for me to be saying this but, it wouldn't hurt to think about your future."

Johnny put the piece of paper away as he looked back up towards the sky.

"I still think about it sometimes…you know, that night…killing that soc."

Two-Bit frowned a little. He knew his buddy still felt guilty about that, even if he had no choice but to do it.

"If you hadn't of done it Ponyboy would have died." Two-Bit responded. "Would you'd rather it have been Pony?"

"Of course not!" Johnny answered incredulously.

"All right then. You didn't have a choice, you saved your best friends life, hell you saved little kids in a fire…you're a hero."

Johnny gave him a little smile but didn't say anything in return. Okay, that was it.

Two-Bit then grabbed Johnny by his blue-jeans jacket, pulling him into a side headlock and began violently messing up his hair.

"What are you doing?"

"This is god-damn depressing! Cheer up damn it! I'm the one who should be depressed, I have to work tomorrow!"

Two-Bit then let him go and ran to the trampoline they had set up in the backyard. It was a trampoline that had been bought for his sister but that didn't stop Two-Bit from using it as well. He began jumping on it but suddenly more weight had been added as Johnny got on it and tackled Two-Bit.

"You think you can take me?" Two-Bit said as he struggled to get his buddy off him.

"I'm pretty sure I can." Johnny answered as he tried to get him in a choke hold but Two-Bit was bigger and he managed to stand up with Johnny still on him. Two-Bit picked Johnny up over his head and gave him a body slam, the same kind you see wrestlers give each other on television.

The wind was momentarily knocked out of him as Two-Bit leaned down and placed his knee firmly on Johnny's chest.

"Do you see what you get Johnnycakes!? Do you see what you get when mess with the warrior!"

Johnny couldn't help but laugh a little as he shoved Two-Bit's knee of him. Two-Bit then tried to go after him again but Johnny got his legs up and planted his feet into Two-Bit's chest, sending him flying backwards.

Johnny quickly lifted himself up and launched himself on Two-Bit's back as he got up, going for that chokehold again. The older boy cursed as he was being strangled and he kept moving to the right. He wasn't paying any attention to the fact he was running out of trampoline space and fell right off, crashing to the ground with Johnny's weight on him.

"You give up?"

Johnny had his arm tight under Two-Bit's chin, cutting off his air, his face was also in the grass. Two-Bit tried to answer but couldn't and it was then did he realize it might have been _too_ tight and loosened it a little.

"Jesus, Johnny." Two-Bit gasped as he lifted his head up. "You trying to kill me?"

"Sorry."

After getting a few breaths in, Two-Bit rolled himself over and managed to shove Johnny off of him. Johnny hit the ground and before he could get up Two-Bit was on top of him, giving his ribs a few playful punches before locking him in a front-face lock.

"Call uncle." He ordered.

Johnny answered to that by jammed his fingers into Two-Bit's ribs.

"Ow!"

Two-Bit jumped off him and clutched at his rib-cage. Dally must have taught him that. Johnny then ran inside the house and tried to lock him out but Two-Bit grabbed the door before he could and ran after him. He tried to tackle Johnny but he ducked and he ended up flying over the couch and crashing to the floor with a loud thud.

Two-Bit groaned a little as he staggered back up only to have his legs swept out from under him and hitting the floor again, this time landing on his back. Johnny then jumped on his friend and they began rolling around, bumping right into the stand which held the television and it rocked a little.

"Not the T.V!" Two-Bit yelled as he quickly stood up and steadied it before sighing with relief. "Oh thank you, it's okay."

Johnny gave him a strange look as Two-Bit reached to the television as if it was an infant. He didn't have time to react as Two-Bit jumped on him again but Johnny rolled them over so he was sitting on Two-Bit's waist and grabbed both his hands to stop him from doing anything to defend himself.

"Say uncle." He ordered, a little proud of himself as he and Ponyboy usually always lost when it came to wrestling with anyone in the gang.

Unbeknownst to them, the front door had opened and Ms. Mathews and Karen had arrived home and were standing in the doorway. To say the two boys were in a compromising position was an understatement. She cleared her throat to get their attention and they looked over at them with wide eyes.

"Hey mom, hey Karen." Two-Bit greeted from under Johnny before looking up at his friend. "Johnny, I told you before, I like you as a friend but I ain't into this."

Johnny's face burned bright red with embarassment as he quickly stood up while Two-Bit began to laugh hysterically. Ms. Mathews shook her head as she took Karen's hand and led her upstairs.

"You've gotten stronger, Johnnycakes." Two-Bit said as he got up. "I guess I'll have to take you seriously next time."

"I had you." Johnny responded.

"Yeah, not bad kiddo." Two-Bit then threw his arm over Johnny's neck as the two of them headed out the front door, looking to find something to do tonight to celebrate Two-Bit's last night before he became a working man.


	3. Different Game

_Author's note-This chapter is for reviewers 'tessa' and Foxtrot' who both asked for a Soda/Steve chapter. The other requests that have been asked for...Darry/Ponyboy, Two-Bit/Ponyboy, Two-Bit/Dally, and Johnny/Ponyboy will be coming soon, if anyone has any others be sure to leave them in the review section and I'll consider them._

XXXXXX

Taking in the fresh air of the last night, Sodapop sighed happily as he was a free man now that he one week of being grounded had finally came to an end. He and Steve had taken Evie and Soda's new girlfriend, Carrie to a college football game and they all had a good time. Carrie was a great girl, a brunette from a middle class family. She had helped him forget all about Sandy, something he honestly felt he would never get over. Steve lit a cigarette as he leaned against his car. His parents were out of town for the next few days so he asked his friend if he wanted to crash at his house tonight which Soda accepted.

At the moment Soda was finishing telling Steve all about the mayhem he and Ponyboy caused two days ago and how Darry had come home early from work, catching them in the process.

"I'm shocked he didn't give you and Pony another week." Steve laughed. "Or a month for that matter."

"Yeah, but he's starting to mellow out a little. I didn't tell you that he got a raise at his roofing job, so now he doesn't have to work at the grill anymore."

Sodapop always felt bad about how much Darry had to work, having to roof houses as well as working as a cook at 'Classen Grill'. Now that he was making enough at one he could quit the other. He and Ponyboy were both ecstatic when they found out. Since then, Darry had more time for himself and wasn't as much of a hard ass as he had been in the past.

"Me and Carrie are really hittin' it off, don't you think?" Soda asked. "We're getting on better than me and uh...Sandy did."

"Carrie's a great girl." Steve agreed as he threw his cigarette down and stepped on it, he really didn't want to talk about Sandy and was glad his friend met someone else. "I'm actually jealous."

"Really? I'll be sure to mention that to Evie."

"No, you don't tell Evie anything. Not like it would matter since we're doing it around the clock. That's why my back's been bad lately."

Soda grinned a little as Steve looked at his watch.

"It's just going on ten, still too early for me."

"What do you suggest we do?"

The two went back and forth with suggestions before they finally settled on something. They headed inside and went straight for the living room. It was quiet that night so the only thing that could be heard from anywhere close by were the groans coming from them due to their current activity.

"Ugh!"

"Hph!"

Soda and Steve had their elbows propped up on a small table with their hands grasped together, trying to overpower the other as they were engrossed in an arm-wrestling match. They had them frequently, that and regular wrestling matches and the result was almost always the same. Steve slammed Soda's hand down and flashed him a cocky smirk as if to say 'I won.'

Sodapop stood up and shook his hand a little. He didn't really care as it was always fun to him and whenever he did win Steve would get pissed and demand an immediate rematch. That was just the way he was, very competitive almost ever since the day he met him. He guessed that was both a good and bad thing.

"I'm happy to go again if you can handle another loss." Steve said before taking a drink of his Coke.

Cocking his head to the side, Soda thought about that for a second. To be honest, arm-wrestling was getting kind of dull, they had them more times then he could count. He then started to think about Carrie dragging him to her little brother's birthday a few weeks ago and remembered an activity the kids did that actually did look a little fun to him, but if he mentioned it to Steve he was almost certain to what his friend's reaction would be...

"Sock wrestling? What the hell?"

Soda laughed a little, he was right.

"Yeah, the one who removes the other person's socks first is the winner."

"You want to do something you saw a bunch of nine year olds do? Why am I not surprised?"

"What are ya, a pussy?"

Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I'm a pussy because I don't want to smell your rank socks."

"Or maybe cause you're scared you'd lose."

That did it. Just a minute later the two of them were kneeling on the ground facing each other with their shoes off. Soda went over the rules that he remembered, that neither one was allowed to stand of put any weight on their socks. He was about to say the whole point was to remove the pull off both of the other person's socks without hurting the other person, but he remembered that's what the little kids did, he couldn't guarantee that here.

"One…two…three…go!"

Immediately, the two were at each other. Soda lunged at Steve's foot, but the older boy jerked his foot away to avoid his friend's grasping hands. Steve then shoved Sodapop on his back and then grabbed his ankle but Soda twisted himself around twice to get out of Steve's grasp. The two of them continued grabbing at each others legs and ankles trying to get a good hold of one another until Soda managed to grab a hold of one sock and pulled it off Steve's foot. One down, one to go.

Steve quickly realized this and pounced on Soda, the two rolled around with each other for a few seconds before Steve then turned himself around and went for Soda's ankles but in doing so left himself venerable. Soda managed to sit up a little and pulled off Steve's remaining sock.

"I win." He announced, shoving Steve off him and getting up.

"Alright, rematch." Steve growled as he grabbed his socks back and pulled them back on his feet.

Soda rolled his eyes, why was he no surprised by that?

"Only if we put money on it."

"Fine."

Steve pulled out a five dollar bill and slapped it down on the coffee table and Soda did the same. The two of them got on the ground and faced each other again.

Steve's hands darted out and pulled one of Soda's socks off. After that, Soda was not still enough for Steve to get a firm enough grip on the other one. Soda managed to push Steve down, the older boy rolled to the side but Soda managed to grip his right ankle and pulled off a sock. One to one.

When both of them realized they only had to get one sock off, Soda and Steve lunged at each other's ankles at the same time, tugging at each others socks.

Both of them sat up with their opponent's sock in hand, and the game ended in confusion.

"Pay up." Soda then said.

"What are you talking about?! I won!" Steve argued.

"No, I had the sock first."

"Whatever." Steve snapped. "This is stupid anyway."

"Don't be mad cause you lost."

"Lost at what? Pulling off someone's socks? I make you call 'uncle' anytime we fight."

Steve then jumped up and tackled Soda to the ground. When he was underneath him, Steve moved his feet up to pin Soda's wrists to the floor while he sat on his chest. He bounced a little and grinned wider when Soda gasped for air, trying to twist his hands out from under Steve's feet. When that didn't work, Sodapop grinned and used his fingers as he next defense.

Steve busted out in laughter and fell of him and rolled to the side. Soda grabbed his ankles and dragged him back over, tickling his feet.

"Stop, Soda!"

"Give up, pal?"

"No I don't. Cut it out!"

After he refused to give up, Soda continued tickling Steve's feet until he finally yelled out "Uncle!" Just as he did the phone rang, causing Sodapop to get up to answer it since Steve was momentarily incapacitated.

"Yeah?" Soda asked when he picked up the phone.

"Soda? Is that you? Is Steve around?"

It was Two-Bit who was calling and Soda was taken aback by the urgency in his voice.

"Yeah, it's Soda. What's going on Two-Bit?"

"You won't believe this, but the DX is on fire."

"What?"

"The DX is on fire!"

Right then Steve had gotten up and came over to Soda to try to get revenge but Soda put a hand up to stop him as he continued to listen to what Two-Bit was telling him.


	4. Mess Hall

_Author's note-This chapter goes out to reviewer Carmen Reid who asked for a Two-Bit/Ponyboy chapter. _

XXXXX

It was going on ten o'clock that night and thankfully Two-Bit's shift at Bell's Diner was coming to an end. Pushing his cart to one of the tables, he placed two eaten off of plates and two glasses on it before taking a damp rag and cleaning the table of drink stains.

"This job sucksssss." Two-Bit muttered as he cleaned.

To be honest, the job wasn't that bad but he wasn't about to admit that to any of his buddies when the asked. He had a reputation to think about. There wasn't much to it as it consisted to cleaning off tables, washing dishes, and sweeping. The hours went by fast, he got a thirty minute break…so it was bearable. As he continued to clean he suddenly heard the bell jingle as the door way opened. His boss had stepped out for a few minutes and he must have forgotten to flip over the 'we're open' sign to 'sorry, we're closed'.

"Hey, piss off!" Two-Bit shouted without turning around. "We're closed!"

A few footsteps later, something hard then pressed into his spine causing him to freeze.

"Don't move." Said a voice, a voice that was being disguised. "I want all the money from the register."

"I...uh..." He swallowed hard as he tried to think of something to say. He really didn't know how to get into the register.

"And I want a cheeseburger."

"What?"

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, Two-Bit was now staring into the face of Ponyboy Curtis.

"You little bastard!" Two-Bit grabbed Ponyboy by the collar and shook him before playfully pushing him away as Pony laughed hysterically. "I have to change my boxers now!"

"Oh come on, you've gotten me a hundred times, I finally got you back once, it was bound to happen."

"Yeah, enjoy your moment cause it won't happen again."

Two-Bit turned back around to finish cleaning off a table, but also to hide a proud smile from Ponyboy. He must have been working on his impressions because that was pretty good, it didn't sound like him at all.

"Anyway, flip over that sign to 'we're closed' for me."

"Sure." Pony responded as he went back to the door. "So, how was it tonight?"

"Horrible."

The younger greaser rolled his eyes at his friends predictable response.

"It can't be that bad."

"It is, never get a job kiddo."

"Well, what should I do for money?"

"I don't know." Two-Bit then turned to look at him. "I think you and I should really commit ourselves to winning the lottery."

Ponyboy grinned a little as he took a seat at one of the booths.

"Hey, any chance I could get something on the house?"

Two-Bit thought about that for a moment. His boss was still out and he was sure he saw some leftover food in the kitchen that was just going to be thrown out anyway. He went to the back and sure enough there were a few burgers and fries left which he took and brought out for Pony and himself.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." Two-Bit took the seat in front of his friend and began eating as well.

"You won't get in trouble for this will you?"

"I don't think so, my boss isn't that strict. And even if I do, so what?"

"You're just looking for a reason to get fired aren't you?"

"Well, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it if that's what you mean."

Two-Bit then picked up the ketchup bottle for his fries but when he turned it over nothing would come out. He then hit the back of it and ketchup went all over the counter.

"Damn it." He cursed. "I just cleaned here."

"Bright move." Ponyboy laughed.

Two-Bit narrowed his eyes before squirting the ketchup right between Ponyboy's eyes.

"Ah, Two-Bit!" Pony said as he wiped his face before noticing the container of mustard on the table. He picked it up and sprayed it right into Two-Bit's face. And just like that, they were off. The two of them leaped out of the seats as they sprayed each other with their respective condiments. In just a matter of seconds the two boy's fronts were covered in ketchup and mustard. Pony continued spraying his until it was out then he simply threw the empty bottle at Two-Bit which bounced right off his head.

"Ow!"

Widely looking around, Two-Bit tried to find something to throw back but the only things available were the food he had just brought out. He quickly lunged forward and grabbed one of the burgers, Ponyboy's eyes widened as he jumped on one of the stools and grabbed a tray from the counter, using it as a shield as the burger was whipped at his head. It went off the tray with a 'thump' and flopped right to the floor.

"Big waste of food." Pony complained as he looked down at it.

"It was going to be thrown out anyway."

"That's not the point."

"No, this is the point."

Two-Bit then pointed his middle finger in Ponyboy's face. The younger boy grabbed his finger and twisted it causing Two-Bit to yell out in pain before grabbing Pony's ankle and pulling him down off the counter, to the floor. Ponyboy got back up as Two-Bit threw his fries at him but was tackled to the ground. The two of them rolled around, leaving stains of red and yellow goop everywhere as they wrestled.

They continued rolling until Two-Bit was pinning Ponyboy to the floor and had gotten a hold of that ketchup bottle again. He began pouring down on Ponyboy's face as Pony cussed up at him as Two-Bit began running his hands over his face, spreading it everywhere and running his fingers through his hair.

The two of them weren't even paying any attention as the door had opened and Artie, the manager of the diner had walked back it and saw what was going on. His mouth opened and the cigarette he was smoking fell out.

Two-Bit finally noticed him and quickly jumped off his buddy in embarrassment. Ponyboy on the other hand looked shocked as he got up too. It was like he just remembered that this was Two-Bit's job now, not just some random place to start a food fight.

"Mathews, what the hell have you done?" Artie looked down at the mess that was all over the floor. "You, get out." He then said to Pony who hurriedly walked past him and to the outside.

"Hey boss." Two-Bit smiled. "My shift's over, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh no." Artie responded. "You're going to stay here and clean up this mess."

Two-Bit shrugged.

"Well, I quit. How are you gonna make me clean it?"

He then walked out and joined Pony outside.

"Shit." Artie cursed.

As soon as Two-Bit joined him and they began walking, Ponyboy looked at his friend with regret clear in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Two-Bit."

"For what?"

"You got fired cause of me."

"I didn't get fired, I quit. And it wasn't cause of you, it would have happened sooner or later."

"Your mom is gonna kill you."

"She'll get over it."

The two of them began to head to the direction of the park so they could wash the ketchup and mustard from them in the fountain. Suddenly, the smell of smoke began to assault their nostrils.

"Do you smell that?" Pony asked.

They looked towards the sky and saw heavy black smoke climbing upwards from a place a short distance away. They began running towards it and when they arrived they saw that it was the DX gas station that on fire.

"Oh man, what happened?" Two-Bit asked.

He then looked over at Ponyboy who took a step forward but Two-Bit grabbed his wrist.

"You ain't gonna in there, kid. Don't even think about it."

"But...maybe...Soda..." Ponyboy stammered.

"He ain't in there, he and Steve went out tonight."

"But they got there all the time, even on their days off."

"Come on."

Ponyboy followed him as Two-Bit went to a payphone. After putting a coin in he dialed the number to Steve's house and after a few rings someone picked up and he recongized the voice of Sodapop.

"Soda? Is that you? Is Steve around?"

"Yeah, it's Soda. What's going on Two-Bit?"

"You won't believe this, but the DX is on fire."

"What?"

"The DX is on fire!"

"What do you mean, on fire?"

"I mean, on fire. I'm talkin' burning out of control."

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know, me and Ponyboy just got here."

Before either boy could say anything else, the sound of sirens blared through the area as fire trucks were rapidly approaching.

"I gotta go, Soda!" Two-Bit shouted into the phone as he hung up. He and Pony both watched as two fire-trucks arrived and fireman quickly exited out to fight the raging inferno the DX had become.


	5. Say Cheese

_Author's note-this chapter goes out to reviewer Crystalteen who asked for a Ponyboy/Darry chapter._

XXXXXX

After watching the firefighters put out the fire in the DX, Ponyboy headed home with stains of red all over his blue jeans, shirt, face, and hair. He badly needed to take a shower and knew he was going to hear it from Darry when he got in. Still, anytime he got a glimpse of the ketchup stains it was just a guilty reminder of what he had done and how Two-Bit had quit his job over it.

What the heck was he thinking starting up with Two-Bit at that place? Pony guessed he wasn't thinking, something Darry always pointed out whenever he did anything like this.

When he reached his front door and walked in the house, sure enough both Darry and Sodapop where sitting in the living room talking and immediately took notice of his appearance when they saw him.

"What the heck happened to you?" Darry asked.

"Me and Two-Bit…at the diner." Pony explained as he took of his shirt.

"The diner he works at?"

"Yeah…he quit."

"He quit?" Soda questioned. "Wasn't this his first day?"

"And his last."

"What happened?" Darry asked.

"I don't know." Pony muttered. "The two of us got a little carried away and started messing around…I guess I forgot he worked there now."

Darry sighed, usually he would have gotten on Ponyboy for again being so absent minded, but this time he couldn't really blame him. After all, it wouldn't be too hard to forget that Two-Bit actually had a job. As Pony stepped into the bathroom to take a quick shower, surprised that Darry hadn't layed into him a bit more, the two older brothers continued talking about the fire that had occurred at the gas station.

"Two-Bit said they managed to put it out." Soda continued. "That's good, at least the place didn't collapse."

"Still, it's gonna take a little while to fix back up, plus find out why the fire started in the first place."

"I guess I'll need to find another job in the meantime."

"There's no rush, you can wait for the DX to be fixed up." Darry responded. He knew that Sodapop must have been thinking about bills, he always gave Darry half of what he made but now that he was making more at his roofing job money wasn't as big of a worry.

"I don't think waiting would be a good idea…"

Soda didn't want to be stuck in the house for who knows how long, that hadn't ended well last time but he didn't want to remind Darry of that. By this time Pony had come out of the bathroom and headed to the kitchen.

"Alright, how about this?" Darry began. "Tomorrow I'll drive you over to talk to Ms. Mathews, maybe she can get you a job someplace."

With her being a supervisor, she could know a few people that were looking for workers.

"Okay, sounds good."

"I'll go too." Ponyboy added. "I'll tell her that it wasn't Two-Bit's fault that he quit, and I can see if Johnny wants to hang out."

The following morning, the Curtis brothers piled into the truck after breakfast to head to the Mathews house. As soon as they arrived and walked in they were greeted to an argument between Two-Bit and his mother, Margaret.

"You're going and that's final." Margaret said.

"I don't want that job." Two-Bit responded

"Then you shouldn't have quit your other job."

"Why have you been getting on me about work? Why do I have to work?"

"You can't go through life being a bum."

"Who says I can't?"

"Me!"

They finally seemed to realize the three brothers standing there and stopped to look at them.

"Hi, Ms. Mathews." Ponyboy began. "I just wanted to tell you that it's kinda my fault at what happened at the diner last night."

"No, it wasn't Pony." Two-Bit muttered.

"Well, I appreciate you trying to stand up for him, but it was ultimately Keith's decision to quit." Margaret responded.

"Ms. Mathews." Darry began. "You know that there was a fire at the DX gas station last night?"

"Of course."

"Well, Soda wants to look for a new job now and we were curious if you knew anyone that was hiring?"

"It just so happens I was going to take Keith down to this new warehouse that opened up, they are looking for a couple of new people, it involves packing, shipping, moving boxes around." Margaret listed. "Do you think you could do that?"

"No." Two-Bit said, earning a look from his mother.

"Yes." Soda answered, it sounded like the job would pay more as well.

"Very well, come along with us. Darry, would you and Pony mind waiting with Karen while I'm gone? I should be back within an hour."

"No problem."

Darry didn't mind at all, she was doing them all a favor, plus he off today, and Two-Bit's little sister was a sweetie.

"Thank you."

"Where's Johnny?" Ponyboy then asked.

"Oh, he left with Dally some time last night." Two-Bit answered. "I don't know what they're up to. They didn't come back at all."

"Damn." Ponyboy muttered to himself as he sat down on the sofa and turned the television on. "What I am going to do tonight."

There was only a few days left of summer and he didn't want to waste them. Darry looked at him after he said that and lightly shook his head. Would it kill him to ask if he wanted to do something tonight? Yeah, the two of them didn't share many similar interests, but still…Ponyboy always did things with Sodapop and they didn't much in common either. And there it was again, that envy he had at the two of them's relationship.

He was just about to take a seat in a chair when he saw little Karen on the other side of the room. She was pulling out a doll house and took a seat on the floor to play with her dolls. Darry went over to her, leaned down and smiled.

"Hey Karen."

"Hey Darry, where did my mommy go?"

"Oh, she took your brother to look for a job. She'll be back soon, me and Pony will be here till she gets back so just ask us if you need anything, okay?"

"Okay." She then outstretched her hands holding out a doll to him. "Want to play with me?"

"Uh…" He looked at the doll then back at her and knew there was no way he could say no. "Alright."

Ponyboy looked back at the scene and grinned when he saw his brother playing with dolls. He continued watching the way he interacted with the seven year old and knew that Darry would make a great dad someday…in a way he already was, part brother part dad. But he knew it was a role he didn't ask for nor did he want. Quickly pushing those thoughts away, Pony just focused on the sight of his big brother holding a doll in his hand and making his voice go as high as it could as he played with Karen.

He had to stifle his laughter when suddenly an idea came to his mind. He got up and went to the cupboard, grabbing something out of it and hiding it behind his back as he slowly walked over to where the two were playing.

Darry noticed him but didn't see what was in his hand.

"Hey Pony." He then said. "Do you want to play with us?"

"Sure, Darry." Ponyboy responded with a smile. "Just say the magic word."

"Say what?"

"Say cheese."

After that, Pony took the camera from behind his back and quickly took a picture of Darry sitting across from Karen, holding a little girl's doll in his hands. He then started laughing at the surprised look on his brother's face.

"I'll be sure to give all the guys you work with a copy." Pony managed between laughs.

"Why you." Darry began as he got up and chased after his youngest brother. "Give me that camera."

Ponyboy didn't get far as Darry grabbed him and took him to the floor. The camera went out of his hands but that didn't stop Darry from wrapping an arm over Pony's neck, forcing him into a headlock. Pony kicked his feet relentlessly at Darry which got him to let him go. Ponyboy managed to get on Darry's back and get him into a chokehold that Two-Bit taught him, but naturally it didn't last long.

Just as Darry broke free and tried to drag Ponyboy back down to pin him he jumped back a bit, letting out a small cry of pain.

"Ow, no biting Ponyboy!" Darry said as he furiously rubbed his arm.

"It's all fair game."

Darry tried to go after his youngest brother again but Pony was able to dodge him rather easily. There was a reason why he was on the track team at school. Ponyboy jumped on his back again but before Darry could get him off, Pony wetted his finger and stuck it his brother's ear before jumping off.

"Ah! Pony!"

Furiously wiping his ear, Darry gave his brother a look as he was now very annoyed.

"Against the rules again, Pony."

"There are no rules."

"Oh really?"

"That's right."

Ponyboy took a playful swing at him but Darry was finally able to grab his arm and pulled him up before tossing him like a sack of potatoes onto the couch. He then jumped on top of him, pinning him to the sofa before starting to tickle him mercilessly.

Ponyboy yelled out with laughter as the feather light touches over his ribs made him jump and squirm as he began to plead between laughs for mercy. By this time Karen had come over and was watching them with curious eyes as Darry paused for a moment.

"Holler uncle." He said, poised to resume his attack.

"Never!" Pony yelled as he tried to get out from underneath his brother. He fought as hard as he could, pulling his arms with as much force as he could muster, kicking his legs out, and bucking with all his strength but it was no use.

Darry continued tickling his ribs and then went for his sides causing Pony to shriek.

"Da-Darry…st-st-stop!" Ponyboy managed through his laughter. Darry ignored him and continued his assault on the younger boy's ribs and sides.

"I can't understand you, Pony, you're stuttering too much."

"Un…Uncle!" He finally managed.

Darry frowned but couldn't argue with that, plus he felt that Pony had suffered enough. He got up off him and bent down to grab the camera, taking the film out of it. Ponyboy continued to breathe heavily as he muttered something about how much he hated him causing Darry to laugh.

Then suddenly, a news report on the television got both their attention.

"Police are investigating the fire to the gas station last night and strongly believe that foul play was involved. According to several eye witnesses, two young men were seen getting into a car and speeding away seconds after the station went into flames…"

Ponyboy looked on as the reporter continued. He then thought about what was just said, two young men seen at the station before it went up in flames…and then remembered Two-Bit telling him about how Johnny had been out with Dally last night…

He then quickly shook his head.

No…they wouldn't do that.


	6. Friendly Fire

XXXXXX

After the news report both Darry and Ponyboy calmed down as they waited for Ms. Mathews to come back. About forty-five minutes later her car appeared back in the driveway and Sodapop came bouncing back in the house with Two-Bit close behind, a sour look on his face. From the looks of them, Darry guessed that Sodapop got a job while Two-Bit didn't.

"I assume you have good news." Darry said to Soda.

"Yep." He smiled. "I got a job at the warehouse."

"Good for you." Darry then looked to a scowling Two-Bit. "And I guess you didn't."

"No…I got hired too."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Two-Bit nodded.

"Yeah, we'll be working together." Soda added.

"You two working together? That's a recipe for disaster." Ponyboy chimed in, earning him a look from both of them. "Anyway, why don't we go celebrate?"

It didn't sound like a bad idea and since it was still early they all went out for breakfast. Sodapop and Ponyboy both ordered French toast with chocolate milk, Two-Bit got an egg omelette with bacon and shredded cheese while Darry got two pancakes, a slice of grilled ham, two sausage links, two eggs, and hash browns.

The three boys all gave him a look of disbelief when his order came and four different plates were put down in front of him.

"What?" Darry asked. "I'm hungry."

They all then began talking as they ate, mostly about their plan for tonight.

"I'm going out celebrating." Soda said as he took a drink of milk. "What about you, Darry?"

"I really don't know."

"Darry, don't take this personally." Two-Bit began. "But maybe you outta find yourself a girlfriend."

Darry gave him a look as the others laughed. By this time Ponyboy finished up and excused himself as he wanted to have a cigarette.

As he walked out of the diner, Pony reached into his jean pockets and fumbled around, craving for a cigarette. When he found one he leaned against a building and lit it up. Just then he heard a clicking against the slab of concrete. He turned his head out to see who was coming and to his surprise, it was Cherry Valance.

Ponyboy's shoulders tensed as she smiled when she recognized him. Her red hair began to blow around her head from the wind as her cheeks flushed pink.

"Hey Cherry." He greeted. "Fancy seeing you again."

"Hi Pony." She smiled back. "How've you been?"

He shrugged.

"Okay I guess."

They both stood in an awkward silence for a minute before Cherry cleared her throat and spoke again.

"Ponyboy, listen…I've been thinking for a little while now, about the whole situation with Bob. I just, I don't know…I guess I should have went about things a little differently."

Pony's brows furrowed.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know…I guess maybe I should have visited Johnny in the hospital when you asked, and I should have talked to you in school."

"Forget about it. You spied on the socs for us and testified at Johnny's trial. You did a lot for us. And you can't help the way things are between us. You know…me being a greaser and all…we really can't be friends."

"But I don't want it to be like that anymore." Cherry responded while shaking her head. "I don't like it…you're a nice boy Ponyboy. It's just…"

"Not fair?" Pony finished.

"Yeah."

So, um, what do you…want?" Ponyboy then wondered why he felt so nervous all of sudden.

Cherry sighed heavily.

"I don't know."

She brushed a piece of stray hair away from her face, and the simple gesture made Ponyboy's stomach churn. He knew he shouldn't feel like this, but he wanted to reach out and tuck it behind her ear for her. But she was a soc and he was a greaser, and there was nothing anyone could ever do about that.

"If you don't mind, I uh, I think I'm going to go. It was nice seeing you again Ponyboy."

He smiled at her.

"It was nice seeing you again too."

And then she was gone, a flurry of red hair disappearing off into the brightening East Side streets. Taking a deep breath, Ponyboy then sighed when suddenly Darry, Sodapop, and Two-Bit all came out of the diner. Soda must have noticed his distress because he asked;

"You okay, Pony?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

They got back in the truck, Ponyboy asked to be dropped off at the house while Two-Bit promised he knew a hot blonde that he could introduce Darry to. As soon as the truck drove off, Ponyboy walked into the house and to his surprise Johnny was sitting on the sofa, apparently waiting for him.

"Johnny, where the heck have you been?" Pony asked as he walked over and took a seat next to him. "Two-Bit said you didn't come back to his house last night."

"Yeah, I was with Dally last night. We stayed over at the Shepard house."

"Tim Shepard's place?"

"Yeah."

Ponyboy thought that was a little strange but didn't ask anymore about it. The two of them soon exited the house and ended up heading over to the movie house 'Circle Cinema' just to have something to do.

When the movie ended they headed back the Pony's house and were currently in the backyard. They set up a box that was being held up by a stick and tied a piece of rope around it. They were trying to trap a rabbit. Once the rabbit came around and was under the box, Pony pulled the string and it dropped down but the rabbit was too fast and ran before it could become trapped under it. The two boys ran after it but it was pointless, it was long gone.

"So, did you hear the DX caught on fire?" Ponyboy asked.

"Oh yeah." Johnny responded. "I saw it this morning."

"You know on the news they think that it was set on fire on purpose. That two people were seen leaving right as it caught fire."

"Really?"

"It's funny, but I couldnt' help but think for a second when I heard that...since you and Dally were out last night-"

"What? That we did it?"

Ponyboy laughed a little. It was just his over-active imagination.

"Yeah, we did it." Johnny continued. "Me and Dally are planning a crime spree all across Tulsa."

"Well, I could picture Dally doing it but not you." Pony then gave him a playful push. "You don't have the stones for it."

"Yeah, and you're a regular Billy the kid." Johnny pushed him back but that only earned him a tackle into the grass in return. Ponyboy had Johnny pinned to the ground and grabbed a hold of his wrists to stop him from pushing him off.

"Holler uncle."

"Nope."

Johnny struggled under him but couldn't detach his friend as Pony laughed.

"Come on Johnny, use those scrawny arms."

"Scrawny! _You're_ calling me scrawny?"

Johnny finally managed to roll himself over causing Ponyboy to fall off. They fought on the ground for a few seconds before Johnny now had Ponyboy pinned who of course refused to give up. He kicked his legs up and got out from the position only to be grabbed again and forced on his stomach with Johnny on his back, grabbing his arm and pulling it backwards.

"Holler uncle." Johnny said.

"You wish." Pony mumbled.

Johnny pressed on his arm further.

"What was that?"

"No way."

He applied more pressure before bending his thumb backwards.

"Uncle!" Pony yelled.

Johnny got up as Pony scowled and picked up a bit of dirt and threw it at his buddy's face. Johnny retaliated and soon the two of them were throwing dirt and fistfuls of grass at each other before Ponyboy tackled him again, determined to get revenge but suddenly the sight of black smoke in the air interrupted their game.

"I wonder what's going on." Johnny said as he and Pony got to their feet. They looked at each other before going to the front of the house. Sure enough the smoke was coming from a place nearby. They quickly headed down the neighborhood street, passing the park and soon came across Buck Merrill's place...a fire had been lit there as smoke was climbing out from the top floor and a woman could screaming from outside.

"Buck is still in there!" She yelled. "Someone help!"

The fire was going but it wasn't that bad in the first floor yet. Ponyboy and Johnny looked at each other as a sick feeling of deja vu was coming over them. The two of them didn't say a word, it was if they were having a conversation with each other in their minds. Finally, Johnny nodded as they quickly rushed past the woman and towards the building, Pony kicked the front door open and they both ran in.

Fortunately there was no fire on the first floor, the bar area but it was smokey inside. Pony looked up at the ceiling and could tell a bad fire had started above them. The two of them stayed back by the door, no wanting to go further in until they knew where Buck was.

"Be careful." He told his friend.

Johnny nodded as he was wide-eyed, the last time they had done something like this he had almost died. His heart was racing as the looked around for Buck.

"Buck!" Pony, but got no answer. "Buck!"

A groan came from behind the bar. It wasn't a loud one, but they heard it. The two of them raced around to where the bar and jumped behind to counter to see Buck laying on the ground, apparently knocked out. Each one took an arm as they pulled the older man up just as small, burning pieces of roof began to fall. The smoke was also thickening.

"Johnny, get out here!" The last thing he wanted was his friend to possibly to get hurt once again.

"I ain't leaving you. Let's go!"

With all their strength, they moved as fast as they could pulling Buck with them as the roof continued to come down, now larger pieces were beginning to fall. They finally threw themselves out the front door just as a loud 'smash' could be heard behind them and several windows of the first floor broke out.

Johnny and Ponyboy pulled Buck a safe distance away from his burning place as sirens could be heard approaching. As Pony took a deep breath, he thought about the gas station...and now this. It couldn't be a coincidence. Someone had set fire to both places on purpose.


	7. Wild Boys

XXXXXX

Ponyboy and Johnny both stayed as two fire-trucks came as well as an ambulance for Buck. News reporters then came and that girl, whatever her name was that yelled that Buck was still in the building let them know that Pony and Johnny were the heroes that got him out. Needless to say the reporters must have remembered them from last year and wanted to get a story on them. They took pictures of them but the two friends refused to answer any questions as they finally left the scene and headed back to the Curtis house.

The whole thing was so eerily familiar that neither Ponyboy nor Johnny spoke to one another as they walked or after they got inside the house. They must have knew what the other was thinking. They spent the rest of the days just hanging around the house before Johnny finally left to head back to Two-Bit's place.

Evening news must have picked up on the story of Buck Merrill's place catching on fire, and them rushing in to save him because Darry was less than pleased when he came home with Sodapop.

"You two ain't fireman or cops." Darry began. "It isn't your job to go rushing into burning buildings."

"Buck would have died if we hadn't gone in." Ponyboy responded.

Darry sighed as he rubbed his forehead. It might have sounded callous, but he would have much rather have something happen to Buck than Ponyboy, or even Johnny for that matter.

"You've got to stop putting your life as risk like that. Promise me you won't do anything like this again."

"Yeah, Pony." Sodapop then spoke. "You could have really of gotten hurt, or worse."

Soda sounded shaken up which immediately made Ponyboy feel guilty. It was one thing for Darry to say what he was saying, but for Soda it was something else entirely.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I won't do anything like that again. I promise."

The three of them soon headed to bed, Ponyboy and Sodapop both slept in separate rooms now. When summer started and he turned fifteen, Pony just felt he was too old for someone to be sleeping with him now but that night to be honest, he could have used him there beside him. He just tossed and turned the whole night until nearly two in the morning before finally falling asleep. The images of that fire, and burning pieces of ceiling staying with him.

When he woke the next morning it was going on eleven but Pony wasn't really in the mood to do anything. He went to the kitchen to get a small glass of chocolate milk before heading back to his room and throwing himself back down on his bed.

A short while later, he could hear two voices talking in the living room. After listening closely for a second he could tell it was Sodapop and Two-Bit…then the voices stopped.

The door to his room slowly opened...

"Oof!"

Ponyboy yelled out in surprise when someone jumped on him before turning himself and seeing it was Two-Bit.

"Mr. Hero!" Two-Bit grinned as he messed with Pony's hair. "Help me, help me! Save me, save me!"

"You're gonna need saving if you don't get out of here, you jackass!"

"Ooo, that's not really nice, Pony."

Pony then felt something stroke his foot. He then jumped and tried to get away but Two-Bit grabbed his ankle and began tickling his foot.

"Stop, Two-Bit!"

"No, I don't think I will." Two-Bit responded as he continued. Suddenly the phone rang and back in the living room, Soda went over and answered it.

"Hello?"

As Soda talked on the phone, Ponyboy was still trying to escape Two-Bit as he now had both of his feet in his hands, tickling him. He laughed and cursed while squirming to get away.

"Hey you guys!" Soda then yelled. "Be quiet for a minute!"

After that, Two-Bit stopped and Pony managed to yank one foot away. Two-Bit still held on to one and continued poking his foot. Ponyboy then growled as he kicked Two-Bit in the chest, knocking him off the bed before flying down on top of him and covering his mouth with his hand, trying to smother him. Pony then looked up as Soda came into the room.

"Who was it?" Ponyboy asked as Two-Bit struggled under him.

"It was the social worker. She's coming over here in an hour."

"Why?" Pony said as he gave Two-Bit as stiff punch to the ribs.

"I'm guessing because of your little stunt yesterday."

Ponyboy narrowed his eyes as he wanted to remind his brother that his little 'stunt' saved somebody's life.

"We have to clean this place up." Sodapop then continued. "Two-Bit, you leave."

"Fine." Two-Bit muttered as Ponyboy got up off him. "We'll finish this some other time."

Ponyboy narrowed his eyes playfully as his friend left the house. Over the next hour, the two brothers went around the house, making the beds, vacuuming the carpet, making sure the kitchen was clean, everything that the social worker would look at. After about forty-five went by, the doorbell rang as the social worker Mrs. Varner arrived.

"Hello, Mrs. Varner." Soda greeted with fake cheerfulness as he let her in.

"Hello, boys." She greeted. "I've come to check-up on you."

'How thoughtful.' Ponyboy thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Ponyboy, I understand that you went inside a building that was on fire instead of waiting for the firefighters." She continued.

"There was person inside." He responded, his voice hard. "If I had done nothing, he would have died."

"Still, you could have complicated things further, and made things harder for the professionals."

Ponyboy looked over at Soda who shook his head as him in return, as if telling him not to say anything while Mrs. Varner wrote something down on her clipboard.

"Yes, but it wasn't Pony's fault." Soda insisted. "You should blame whoever started the fire in the first place."

Mrs. Varner didn't respond as she began to look around, going from room to room.

"I have to say that the house looks nice."

"We always try to keep a clean house." Pony spoke, even though that wasn't really the case especially if she had seen what he and Sodapop did to it a couple of days ago.

"And how is Darry doing? Are you still happy with him?"

"Very. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"Me too." Soda echoed.

"He's still able to properly provide for you."

"Yes. He's even gotten a raise at his roofing job so he was able to quit his second job."

She nodded again as she wrote down something else.

"Okay. Well, I've have all that I need. It was nice seeing you boys."

After saying that, Mrs. Varner let herself out. A second later the sound of car heading away from the house could be heard as Soda looked at his little brother.

"I can't stand her."

"You don't think she'd try to put us in a boy's home do you?"

"Na, don't worry about it kiddo."

He then gave Pony a playful punch on the shoulder before throwing himself down on the couch. Pony took a seat as well and tried to act like everything around them was normal but it wasn't. There was something going on in their town, something they all weren't even talking about...some kind of arsonist was the reason for the DX and Buck Merrill's place going up in flames.

"Someone is responsible for these fires, Soda." He then spoke. "How come we're not talking about this?"

"Don't think about it, Pony." Soda responded. "The police will catching whoever is doing it."

"I wonder who it is. I hope they get him before he hurts someone."

"Hey." Sodapop then jumped up and changed the subject. "Want to go see Steve? He has a new job."

"Sure. Where's he working at?"

He knew that since Steve graduated from high school this year he needed a full time job, someplace better than a gas station.

"At a car lot, you know he's a good mechanic."

As the two brothers got up and headed out of the house, elsewhere at a expensive looking socs house, a hand wearing a black glove was shoving jewerly, watches, and other expensive looking things into a bag. Gasoline had been poured around the house as a match was lit and thrown to the floor. A fire sprung up and quickly began to spread everywhere...


	8. Tough Guys

_Author's note-this chapter goes out to Silverrock22 who asked for a Two-Bit/Dally chapter. Sorry it took so long._

XXXXXX

Sodapop and Ponyboy walked down the sidewalk as they headed to the car lot where Steve now worked. Soda whistled to himself while Pony kicked a decent sized stone along the way, his mind still on the two fires that had occurred despite his brother telling him to forget about it. He just couldn't, especially since he and Johnny had just risked their lives the other day in one of them to save Buck from a horrible fate.

Once they reached the lot, they passed several cars and headed up to the garage area where the immediately recognized Steve although he had his head burried in the open-end of a truck. Soda glanced cleverly at his younger brother, who raised an eyebrow in response. It seemed they were both thinking the same thing.

Beginning to tip-toe closer to his best friend until he was right behind him, Soda reached out his hand and gripped Steve's shoulder before saying in his best soc voice;

"Hey greaser, you look like you could use a good bruisin'."

Steve quickly whipped himself around, looking prepared for a fight as his face was grim and narrow-eyed. There was a small pause as dawning spread on his face, apparently surprised to find Soda and Pony grinning like morons when he expected to see some angry socs.

Steve then grabbed Soda and pulled him into a headlock for a moment before playfully pushing him away.

"Hey! You can't attack me!" Soda laughed. "I'll get my socially-elite friends on you!"

"I'll take my chances." Steve responded as he grabbed a white towel and wiped his hands. "What are you two doing here?"

"We came to visit you."

"How sweet." Steve responded. "Anyway, they're saying in the papers that Molotov cocktails were found in the DX and Buck Merrill's place. So both fires were definitely intentional."

"What's a Molotov cocktail?" Ponyboy questioned.

"A bottle with gasoline in it, some motor oil added. You put a cloth soaked with alcohol in the bottle's stopper, light the cloth and then throw it."

"So that really works." Soda responded.

"Wow." Pony then joked; "We could have used a few of those when we were fighting with the socs."

"Anyway." Steve continued. "What they're not saying in the papers is that the DX was robbed first before it was set on fire. Buck's place too."

"What? How do you know?"

"My dad's buddy is a cop. He was over this morning and I overheard the two of them talking."

"Why aren't they putting that in the papers?"

"Who knows?"

Soda and Steve continued talking for a few minutes before Steve had to get back to work. The brothers left the car lot and went down the street with no real destination to head to. Really, the only thing on Pony's mind was now what Steve had told him, that there was more to these fires than what was being told. Sodapop looked over at him and seemed to know what he was thinking because he was about to tell him again not to worry about it when the sound of a siren caused them both to freeze in their tracks as a fire-truck came flying down the street.

"No way." Pony breathed. Not again.

Without even thinking Ponyboy took off in a run as he chased after the truck. He thought he heard Soda yell after him but that didn't slow him down. The truck was heading down the west side, where the nice houses stood, where the socs lived. The truck was already parked, the hose was attached to a hydrant and the firefighters were already trying to put out a fire to house when Ponyboy finally caught up to it.

He was a safe distance back, along with a group of people from the neighborhood who had come out of their homes to watch. Pony could hear their cries and murmurs before really looking at that crowd and finally spotted a familiar face.

"Cherry?" He said to himself.

He walked closer and Cherry finally noticed him as well as she broke away from the crowd and ran up to him.

"Pony!" She yelled. "Oh god, that's Marcia's house!"

Marcia? He them remembered that she was Cherry's friend and with her that night at the movies.

"She's not in there is she?"

"No, she's away with her parents. What are they going to do when they find out?"

Cherry looked so distressed and on the verge of tears. Not knowing what else to do, Ponyboy put his arm around her shoulders, trying his best to comfort her as they continued to look on as the fireman did their best to put out the flames.

While this chaos was going on, on the opposite side of town, Two-Bit was bouncing down the sidewalk with Johnny at his side. He saw the younger boy at the bowling alley playing a game on the pinball machine and asked him what Dally was up to. It had been a few weeks since he'd seen him and wonder what he was going to do now that his primary place to stay, Buck Merrill's had nearly burned to the ground. Johnny had told him that Dally had been mostly staying at Tim Shepard's place which surprised him a little. Once the two reached the house, Two-Bit banged on the screen door as he didn't know the Shepard's well enough to just walk in. Soon enough, Tim' little sister Angela answered.

"What do you want?"

"We're looking for Dally. Is he here?"

Angela rolled her eyes but opened the door to let them in. Two-Bit headed into the living room to see Dally sitting on the couch, tying up his shoes looking like he was preparing to head out.

"Hey." He said when he saw him "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you." Two-Bit grinned. "It's been a little while since I've seen you, you don't write me, you don't call. Don't you want to be friends no more?"

"We ain't friends, Mathews." Dally said as he stood up.

"Now we both know that ain't true."

"It is true. Now if you'll get out of my way I don't have time for your crap."

"Fine, I'm leaving." Two-Bit said over-dramatically. "And don't call me when you need bail-money again."

Two-Bit turned around to leave as Dally shook his head and muttered something about stupidity under his breath. As he followed him out, Two-Bit knew full well that Dally was behind him because after he walked out, he swung the screen door back hard which hit Dally right in the face.

"Damn it, Two-Bit! I'm gonna kill you!"

Dally threw open the door and tackled Two-Bit to the ground. They rolled around on the front lawn as Johnny came quickly rushing back to see them. If Dally wasn't in a playing mood he was going to know real quick and Two-Bit was going to get hurt. But once he saw the two of them give each other playful jabs to the ribs and chest, he knew that it just a typical friendly 'fight'.

Two-Bit pushed Dally off of him and grabbed him in a front-face lock, pulling him to the grass but Dally grabbed his wrists and twisted them making Two-Bit release him. Dally then pulled Two-Bit under him and straddled his waist before putting his wrist under his chin and on his throat.

"Say uncle." He demanded.

Squirming under him, Two-Bit arched his back and planted his feet on the ground before using on his strength to turn them over so he was now on top. After getting his breath back, Two-Bit gave Dally a punch to the ribs before reaching down and taking Dally's neck in his arms. He slid down by Dally's side, keeping both forearms around Dally's throat and wrapped his legs around Dally's waist. He pulled back to cut of his air.

"Holler uncle."

He didn't answer so Two-Bit tightened his chokehold. Dally jammed his elbow in Two-Bit's mid-section and kicked his legs but couldn't break free.

"I'm gonna cut off your air." Two-Bit warned as he squeezed harder.

"Let go, you retard." Dally grunted as he elbowed him again, much harder this time. Two-Bit grunted but kept on, but after a third hit he couldn't ignored the pain anymore and reluctantly let go and got up to rub his side.

Once Dally got up the two of them began grappling again as Dally managed to grab Two-Bit's hands. Two-Bit laced his fingers with Dally's and pushed against his strength as they were now in a 'who's stronger' competition. Dally soon had the upper hand as he drove Two-Bit into a kneeling position.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow," Two-Bit said, trying to pull his hands away. Dally only pushed down with more force making the other boy yell out in pain. "Uncle! Uncle damn it, let go!"

Dally released him and Two-Bit fell to the side, flexing his fingers in pain.

"I'm done playing with you." Dally said as he got his breath back.

Johnny, who had watched the whole thing finally opened the screen door and came out of the house.

"What are you up to today?" He asked.

"I don't know. Something will come along, trouble always finds me."

Two-Bit grunted as he slowly got to his feet. Johnny then asked Dally another question.

"How's Buck doing? You know about his place don't you."

"Yeah I heard. I don't know how he is."

Dally then turned as he prepared to walk away but this time Two-Bit's voice stopped him.

"You know Johnny and Ponyboy saved him."

Dally looked back.

"What?"

"Yep, regular hero this guy." Two-Bit grinned as he put his elbow on Johnny's shoulder. However, Dally didn't look pleased as he walked back over menacingly.

"That place was on fire, and you went in there…again?"

The tone of Dally's voice made Johnny nervous, even Two-Bit looked slightly taken aback.

"Are you stupid kid, or what!?" He then yelled. "You ran inside to save Buck's worthless hide!"

"Take it easy Dally." Two-Bit tried to cut in but was ignored.

Dally then grabbed Johnny by his collar and pulled him closer.

"I outta smack you for being such an idiot, and I would if I thought it would do any good! You almost died last time! What the hell were you thinking!?"

Dally then shoved him back and finally turned away, stalking down the street more angry then he had been in a while. Two-Bit put a hand on Johnny's shoulder, making sure he was okay after that outburst then glared back at Dally's retreating form, wondering why he reacted as harshly as he did.


	9. Labor Day

XXXXXX

The fire was bad but fortunately the fireman had gotten there in time to take care of it and the house wasn't too badly damaged. When they questioned the men they said it would take a week, maybe two in order to repair and Cherry seemed happy about that, but then remembered how Marcia and her family were out of town, in California having a good time on vacation. They were going to get a phone call telling them their house had caught fire, something that was going to put them in total shock, put their lives out of order.

"I can't imagine getting such horrible news." Cherry said to herself.

Ponyboy didn't respond, but he knew what it was like to get horrible…life changing news, something much worse than a house fire. She then looked down at herself and smiled a little.

"Look at me, I'm shaking."

He looked down at her hands and they were shaking. Ponyboy then remembered what made him feel better.

"I know what you need."

The two of them headed to the nearest store and Ponyboy bought two Pepsi's for them. They then leaned against the building and began drinking and sure enough the cool drink had helped Cherry relax a little.

"We'll let Marcia and her parents stay at my house until their house is fixed. We have a guest room…it will be fine." Cherry spoke.

"That's nice of you." Pony responded. He and his brothers let their buddies stay over all the time. She was willing to help a friend in a big way. Again, they weren't so different after all.

"It's the least we could do."

"Still. You're a really good person."

She smiled and he smiled back before they both looked away from each other. Pony then stared down at his Pepsi...he wished he could-

"I'm still a little shaken up." She admitted, stirring him out his thoughts. "Not just the fire…everything else."

She trailed off and didn't elaborate. Pony wondered what was going on with her, what problems she was dealing with. Maybe she was alone…frustrated…boyfriend troubles? He didn't know.

"Are you…doing anything tomorrow?" He cautiously asked.

"Not really."

"I uh…"

"What?"

"Listen." He finally decided to just spit it out. "Me and the guys are going to be heading to the park tomorrow. We're going to be playing football, they're bringing their girls along. We're gonna have drinks there, food. If you'd like, you can come."

Cherry looked surprised by the invitation, he was surprised he actually had the guts to offer. But he knew there was no way she would except though.

"Dally will be there." Pony quickly added, knowing how she felt about him. "Johnny too."

"I don't have a problem with Johnny." She responded. "I know he did what he had to."

She then changed the subject.

"How's Sodapop been doing?"

"He's doing good. He's got a new job, and a new girlfriend…Carrie Laurence."

"Carrie Laurence? She was my home-ec partner all year."

"You're friends with her?"

Cherry nodded. If she went at least someone she knew would be there. But it wasn't just that…it intrigued her. She would be doing something she wasn't 'supposed' to be doing. She was tired of the whole stereotypes, tired of being around girls acting so fake, just tired of it all. Ponyboy watched her with wide eyes…she really looked like she was considering it. He then decided to add;

"And after all, if you're not liking it I suppose you can just leave."

She nodded.

"Okay. I'll go."

The afternoon of the following day, the gang all gathered. It had been quite some time since they had all been together. Darry dragged a cooler full of cokes, Sodapop had brought along bags of chips and other junk food. The field was large, full of bright green grass and the best part was there was no one else here. The sun was shining bright, there was not a cloud in the sky. It was almost too perfect.

Two-Bit, Sodapop, and Steve had brought Kathy, Carrie, and Evie along. They were the only ones with girls and Steve smirked as he realized this as Kathy layed out two sheets on the ground then sat down on it along with Evie.

"Only the three of us have girls." Steve remarked as he looked back at his buddies. "The rest of you are part of the lonely hearts club."

"Hey, I get a girl almost every night." Dally responded as Darry and Johnny narrowed their eyes at Steve. "I'm far from lonely."

Ponyboy then saw in the distance his guest coming and smiled.

"Actually Steve, I do have a girl coming."

He then pointed to Cherry and when the others looked, all but the girls raised an eyebrow. Cherry's hair was flowing as she wore a red tank top and low cut off black jean shorts. She looked good.

"Cherry?" Carrie smiled as she recognized her. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"Ponyboy invited me."

Dally had his eyes narrowed as he looked from Cherry to Ponyboy.

"Did he?"

"Yeah." Pony spoke.

"Well, thank you for granting us the honor of your presence." Dally then gave a mock bow.

Cherry ignored him as Pony offered her a coke.

"Hey I remember, you spied on the socs for us last year." Two-Bit remarked.

"Yes, that was me."

Sodapop then smiled and gave Ponyboy a playful punch on the shoulder as if to say 'way to go'. Johnny on the other hand looked a little uncomfortable now and kept his distance. Pony must have noticed because he pulled him away and whispered;

"Just act normal."

As they all settled in, Darry spoke up.

"Well, I'm going to pick up the pizzas." Darry then counted the number of people. "I guess I better get four."

With Darry leaving the six of them began playing with the football they brought, just tossing it around to one another. Even with that it soon became competitive as Ponyboy soon got the ball and ran down the opposite side of the field, scoring a touchdown for himself. He didn't have time to celebrate as he was quickly tackled by Dally.

Two-Bit then joined in, jumping down on the two of them, crushing Pony further. Steve jumped in the dog pile as well.

"Guys! This isn't funny!" Ponyboy managed to yell.

"Come on, Pony." Soda laughed as he too joined in. "You're a tough kid, you can take it."

Johnny was the only one who didn't jump in and instead pulled the other boys off of his best friend who was gasping for air once Dally was up. Soon, they were messing around with the football again and Two-Bit nailed Steve in the crouch with it.

"You shithead!" Steve yelled as he grabbed the ball and threw it at full force at Two-Bit's head who ducked but was then pounced on and a mock-fight started up. Sodapop then tackled Johnny to the ground and Ponyboy soon got into it with Dally, jumping on his back and getting him into a chokehold but that didn't last long. Dally easily pulled him over his head and to the ground where Pony ended up pinned to the ground under the white haired greaser.

As Ponyboy and Dally wrestled around, Cherry watched in amazement. They were all friends yet they looked like they were trying to kill each other. Pony must have seen her expression because he began laughing. They always did things like this, calling each other names, roughhousing, competing…it was all just male bonding, something girls would never understand.

About a half an hour later Darry had come back with the pizzas and they all sat and ate, talked. Cherry for the most part kept her mouth shut and just listened as she probably still felt a little out of place. But when Pony looked at her he could tell she was having a good time. He was too, it took his mind off the fires.

After they ate and the food settled in their stomachs they started up a serious football game this time, the Curtis brothers against the rest of them and needless to say Dally, Steve, Two-Bit, and Johnny got crushed. They decided to start up another game and Darry gave them a five point lead.

"Hey Dally." Pony then spoke. "You got a smoke?"

"Check my jacket."

Ponyboy walked over to the sheet where Dally had taken off and thrown down his leather jacket once the game started. He picked it up and went inside the pocket when he suddenly saw money inside…and a lot of it. Fifty dollar bills, hundred dollar bills…Pony had never actually held a hundred dollar bill in his hands before. He then quickly took out the pack of cigarettes before Dally caught him, then took a few steps back away from the jacket, still in shock at what he had seen.

He then looked back at all his friends now amerced in a new game of football and he zeroed in on Dally, wondering where on earth he had gotten all that money...then suddenly remembered what Steve had told him.

About the fires, not only had there been fires at those places but they had been robbed as well. Ponyboy then closed his eyes.

'Please don't tell me...' He thought.


	10. High Tide

XXXXXX

After the football game ended they al decided to call it a day. Sodapop and Steve decided to take Carrie and Evie someplace while the rest decided to head back to the Curtis house. Cherry thanked Ponyboy for being invited, she told him she had a great time but right now all he could think about was Dally and the possibility of him being behind the fires and robberies.

"I'll meet you guys there later." Dally said. "I've got something to do first."

Pony wondered what that might be as he went with Darry, Two-Bit, Kathy, and Johnny back to his place. He knew he needed to tell someone about this and asked Johnny to stay outside for a minute while the other went in.

"What's up, Pony?" Johnny asked.

"I think Dally is the one starting these fires." Ponyboy just said it outright. He knew that Johnny looked up to Dally and admired him for reasons he would never understand so he would have a hard time even considering it, but he needed to tell someone and Johnny was the only one he could trust to tell this to.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"You know the places that have caught fire, the DX, Buck's place…they were robbed first. Probably even that soc house too."

"What's the point?"

"When I went inside Dally's jacket for smokes, I saw money in the pocket. A lot of it. Maybe five hundred dollars or even more."

"Well, maybe he got it-"

"Where?" Pony interrupted. "He doesn't have a job and you get that kind of money from winning a poker game or riding horses. He stole it."

Johnny stared at his feet for a moment. He didn't want to bring up how mad Dally got at him the other day when he found out that he and Ponyboy saved Buck from the fire. He knew Dally wasn't exactly Ponyboy's favorite person, and he certainly wasn't the nicest guy in the world but still, these fires? Dally wouldn't do that.

"Dally didn't do it." Johnny said firmly. "Maybe he stole the money but come on, why would he start burning places down?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Come on, Pony. I know he does a lot but he isn't that bad. And I thought you told me that some witnesses saw two people at the DX when the fire started?"

Ponyboy shrugged.

"That doesn't mean anything. They could have just been regular people at the right place at the wrong time."

"I still think you're way off."

The younger boy sighed. He just couldn't convince Johnny that someone he looked up to could possible go that far.

"Why don't we just ask him?" Johnny suggested.

Ponyboy looked at his friend with a wide eyed expression.

"What are you, nuts?"

"Why not? He tells us about anything us he does."

"Still, this is much heavier. If he's caught he could get life in prison…maybe worse."

After he finished saying that the noise of a car going way faster that the twenty-five mile an hour speed limit given to their neighborhood street got his attention. Pony recognized it as Buck's T-Bird but unless he was out of the hospital someone else was behind the wheel. The car pulled up along the house and Dally stepped out with grin on his face.

"You waitin' for me?" He asked.

"Hey Dal." Johnny said. "Isn't that Buck's car?"

"I don't think I'll be needed it anytime soon."

"Why?"

"He's in a coma. Might stay that way for a while from what I've heard." Dally then took a pack of cigarettes out from his pocket. While he lit up he seemed to remember something and turned his attention to Pony. "Oh yeah, about Buck's place, didn't I tell you I'd bash your head in if you ever did something that stupid again?"

"Yeah." Pony responded, a little nervous now.

"Well, you're lucky I'm in a good mood right now…"

He trailed off and didn't finish like he normally would with some kind of threat. Ponyboy then cleared his throat and said;

"Speaking of fires, you know about the DX and that house."

"Of course I know, stupid. I have eyes."

"Well…have you heard anything? Like who might be doing it?"

"What am I a detective? I don't know a damn thing."

"So, it isn't…you're not doing are you?" Ponyboy finally mustered up enough guts to finally ask. He knew he was getting on Dally nerves and needed to just say it even it might get him a nice shiner in the process.

Johnny on the other hand closed his eyes as his head was down, wishing his friend hadn't brought this up. When he looked up to see Dally, to his surprise he looked amused.

"Me? You think I'm the one doing it?" Dally almost laughed. "Why do you think that?"

Why did he think that? Well let's see, Dally did pick fights, steal, jump little kids, vandalize property, drink, gamble. Would it really be that far fetched that he would suddenly add arson to that list?

"I don't know." Ponyboy responded. "It was just a thought."

"Well, I'm flattered kiddo. But it ain't me."

He then came around and gave Ponyboy a playful punch on the shoulder before heading into the house. Johnny and Pony both looked at each other for a second before following Dally in, Ponyboy still not convinced. If Dally was behind it he wouldn't have admitted it to them, it was far too serious a crime. They all hung out until it started to get late and Darry reminded Pony that he needed to get to sleep because school started up again tomorrow. Two-Bit made a joke about the 'baby greaser' having a bed time as they all filed out. Ponyboy would have went over and hit him if he wasn't actually tired and drained from today. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was out for the night.

XXXXXX

"Pony? Hey Pony."

Ponyboy slowly opened one eye to see it was morning. He heard the voice and thought for a second that it was Sodapop here to wake him up for his first day of school, his first day in the eleventh grade. When he didn't respond he was suddenly poked in the ribs making jump up.

"Alright Soda-"

But when he finally looked up he saw that it was Johnny, not Sodapop standing by the bed. He also saw that he had a newspaper in his hand.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I wanted to show you something. The cops caught who was starting the fires the other day."

"They did?"

Ponyboy quickly got up as Johnny handed him the paper detailing the arrest. After reading the headline and going right into the story, he saw that two people had been arrested with the names 'Tony DeVito' and 'Ray Thomas', two members of the Brumly Gang. They were a much more organized and dangerous gang in Tulsa. They had helped out in the rumble against the socs, but other than that Pony didn't know much about them.

"The Brumley Boys?" Ponyboy questioned.

"Yep. They were behind the whole thing."

Ponyboy sat back down, feeling confused. He was wrong, he was completly wrong about the whole thing.

"Surprised?"

"Yeah." He admitted.

Johnny then gave Ponyboy a playful punch which Pony returned with a slight grin of his own. That started up a brief wrestling match on the floor which only consisted of rolling around and bumping into the desk before they seperated and Johnny got to his feet.

"I told you that Dally didn't do it. I mean he would have no reason to do something like that."

Ponyboy shrugged as he got back up and started getting his things together.

"Anyway, if you give me a minute we can head to school together-"

"Oh, I'm not going."

"What...why?"

"You really need to ask?"

"Come on, Johnny." He said in an almost pleading voice. "I know school can be hard for you but don't give up."

"I just don't want to go." Johnny then headed out. "I'll see you this afternoon."

Ponyboy frowned as he watched his friend head out the door. As he got dressed he thought about Johnny's question as to why Dally would do it, and what he didn't get was that Dally didn't need a reason other than the fact that he _could._

That it was dangerous, risky, and against the law. Even if Dally wasn't behind the fires, it didn't change the fact that he was capable of doing it, he was a hood…pure and simple. And that money he had, where did he get it? Ponyboy was sure he wasn't to know. One day he would do something that crossed the line, one day he would get caught, a thrown in jail for the rest of this life, or die on the streets. It was just the kind of fate that awaited a person like Dallas Winston.

But to be honest, he really wouldn't care about that it wasn't for the fact that Johnny admired him. That is what scared Ponyboy the most. The chance that one day Johnny could start doing the things that Dally did. With him now giving up on school, on getting an education it greatly increased that risk.

That was something he didn't want to see because Johnny was better than that, he was too good to be looking up to Dally and maybe one day thinking that was the right way to be.

But there was nothing he could do about that right now.

It was going to be a lonely year. Sodapop had dropped out, Two-Bit and Johnny weren't going, Steve had graduated last May. Sure he had school friends, but they weren't buddies. After getting a quick drink of chocolate milk from the kitchen, Ponyboy finally headed out and prepared himself for another year at Will Rogers High School.

He had made it halfway down the block when he heard a car close behind him. He turned around and saw that it looked very familiar as it was the Sting Ray that belonged to Cherry Valance, who was going to be a senior this year.

"Hey Pony." She smiled.

He smiled back, needing to see a friendly face right now.

"Hey Cherry."

"Do you want a ride?"

"Really?" He asked, surprised by the offer.

"Sure."

He nodded as he came around and got inside the car. Neither one said a word as she pulled off the side and drove them both to their destination.


	11. Future Past

XXXXXX

The first week of school had gone by rather smoothly as the final bell rang on that Friday afternoon and classes were dismissed. However, instead of going home Ponyboy headed to the bleachers behind the school and took a seat as he looked out into the massive field that the school's football team played on. He remembered sitting here with Sodapop and his parents a few years ago to watch Darry play…simpler times. More then anything he wished he could go back to it and change what had happened. His mom and dad still being here, Darry off at college instead of working, they all would be so much better off.

As he continued to look out at the field Ponyboy realized just how fast things were going. He was in eleventh grade now and before he knew it he would be a senior. Last year he had gotten straight A's in every subject and he knew Darry was going to push him throughout this year and the next to make sure that didn't change. So that he could get a scholarship and go to college. To get far away from here.

But to be honest, Ponyboy never really thought about college that much or what he might take. Creative writing maybe, but going to college was more Darry's dream than his and that dream was well…not dead but put on the shelf for the time being.

Darry was only twenty one, Pony only had two years of school left before graduating, going to college was still a possibility for his oldest brother and he was sure that he would go when he had the opportunity.

But as he thought about that, he began to wonder what would happen to them all when he did graduate. He would go off to college, Darry would go off to college, but what about Soda? What would he do? The two of them couldn't live in the same house forever, they would have to move on eventually.

And that was what was worrying him…change. He knew as the years went on Darry would be alright, Ponyboy hoped that he would be able to make it on his own. But what about the rest of them?

Sodapop was working in a warehouse now. It was better then working at a gas station and Soda had told him he liked it but could he really get by with just that? There really wasn't much opportunity out there for a high school drop out.

And Two-Bit? He was working at the same warehouse now but had no career goals or ambition that Pony knew about. What would he do, live with his mom forever?

Steve? He was sure that his brother's best friend would be okay. Steve was good with cars and could make a good living as a mechanic. Maybe he could open up his own repair shop one day.

There was no need to go over what awaited Dally, he already knew. But Johnny…he could only hope that one day Johnny would realize that he was smarter and better than all of this, all that he had to grow up around. Ponyboy hoped that his friend wouldn't go down the line of becoming a hood like Dally, the person he admired the most.

"Hey."

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he jumped when he heard a voice. Pony looked down and saw Angela Shepard standing next to the bleachers.

"Sorry." Angela snickered as she climbed up to take a seat. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay." Ponyboy muttered. He looked back at the girl and was a little surprised that she was here. "How come you're still here?"

"Why are you still here?"

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"What I'm going to do after high school. Don't you think about it?"

"Not really." Angela shrugged as she took a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and lit one up. To be honest, the answer wasn't a shock to him.

"Anyway." Ponyboy began as he got to his feet. "Come on, I'll walk with you to your house."

"Aren't you waiting for that soc-skank to give you a ride?"

"No."

Cherry had given him a ride to school everyday this week but the two of them were friends and that was it. To be honest he was surprised that she had even given him_ a_ ride, much less rides to school for a week.

"Alright, let's go." Angela said.

Along the way, Ponyboy tried his best to make small talk with Angela but unfortunately she was just a reminder of what he was just thinking about. The future, and what awaited all of them. And she, along with her brothers Tim and Curly were no different. They were hoods, they were protective of their sister and they looked out for each other, but they were hoods nonetheless.

In fact, is you looked up the word 'dysfunctional' in the dictionary you'd see a portrait of the Shepard family. They too had no way out of the grim fate that awaited them unless a miracle happened and they changed their ways. He was so caught up in his thoughts again that he hadn't realized they had reached her house.

"Want to come in?" Angela asked.

"I've gotta get going." Ponyboy responded. "I promised Two-Bit I'd meet up with him."

That was a lie, but he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He didn't want to stick around and to be honest Darry would give him a good smack to the head if he ever found out he was hanging around a girl like Angela Shepard.

"Fine, I'll see you around."

"Tell Curly I said hi."

After watching her head inside he turned around and hurried home. He didn't know what time Sodapop would get in and Ponyboy wanted to see him before he probably hung out with Steve tonight since the two both had tomorrow off. But as soon as he reached his house Pony stopped in his tracks when he saw the sting ray parked along the curb and Cherry leaning against the car.

Her head was turned the opposite direction and she didn't see him coming as he slowly walked up to her.

"Cherry?"

"Oh, Pony." She jumped as she turned to face him and smiled a little. "I just, I wanted to talk to you after school but you already took off."

"Na, I hung around the bleachers for a little bit."

As Ponyboy observed her he noticed that she looked a little nervous.

"Did you need something?"

"No, not really. I just wanted to ask you if...you wanted to head to the movies tonight. If you didn't have anything to do."

That certainly caught him off guard as Ponyboy cocked an eyebrow.

"Just you and me?"

Cherry smiled as she looked down for a second before looking back up.

"We're friends, Ponyboy. There's no point in trying to hide that anymore."

"But what about your…reputation?"

He remembered how she couldn't say hi to him at school, how she couldn't risk her parents or friends seeing them together. Since last year, after the hold trial she had lightened up a little but it still didn't change that they lived in different worlds. And the last thing Ponyboy wanted was some kind of 'undercover' friendship. It just wouldn't be real.

"I'm a senior in high school now." Cherry then continued. "I'm going to college next year…I don't want to look back on things here with any regrets."

Ponyboy looked at her for a few seconds before responding;

"If you're serious."

"I am."

"Alright. How about six?"

"Sounds good."

They both smiled at each other before Cherry headed around to the driver's side of her car. But before she got in, Pony's voice stopped her as a question entered his mind.

"Do you think about the future much?"

"As much as the next person. Why?"

"You just said you were going to college next year. What are you going to take?"

"I'm not sure just yet." She answered honestly. "Don't you plan on going to college?"

"Sure."

"What are you taking?

"Something that will get me far away from here." Ponyboy responded.

And Cherry understood.

"Likewise."


	12. Quiet Swarm

XXXXXX

Later that night, Ponyboy walked into the house after his night out at the movies with Cherry. He had a nice time and since they had a lot in common it wasn't awkward being out alone with a girl for the first time. They were just friends, but Pony remembered Sodapop telling him how he was in love back when he was with Sandy and how nice it had been and how Pony would know what it's like soon.

He knew now…he had fallen for Cherry. Is heart raced faster when she approached him at the movie house and he stammered a little when she greeted him. Ponyboy didn't know what to do about that, he didn't know what to do about a lot of things now a days.

When Pony entered the living room he saw Soda sitting on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table, a car magazine in his hand and a plate with chocolate cake sitting next to him.

"Hey." He greeted as he took a seat in the recliner.

Soda nodded back, acknowledging his presence but didn't take his eyes from the magazine.

"Is Darry around?"

"He went to get gas in the truck." Soda answered. "Why?"

Pony thought about talking to his oldest brother about what was really bothering him, figuring that he would have the best advice to put his mind at ease. When his little brother didn't respond Soda finally looked up and saw him staring at the carpet, spacing out.

He'd been doing that a lot lately, drifting off into his own thoughts as if something was bothering him. At first Soda figured it might have had to do with the Brumley Boys and those fires or even school starting back up but now he knew it something else entirely.

"Alright, what's wrong with you?" Soda asked, putting the magazine aside.

That jarred Ponyboy back to paying attention.

"What?"

"It's that look, you've had it all week buddy. What gives?"

Sighing a little, Ponyboy didn't know how to answer at first. Even though he could usually go to Soda about anything but the problem he had now in a small way was because of him.

"Do you ever think about the future?" Ponyboy finally asked.

"What'd you mean?"

"You know, what you're going to do, where you're going to be five years from now…ten years from now?"

"Not really."

Pony snorted, that didn't really surprise him.

"Why do you ask?"

"Forget it."

He went to get up but Sodapop's voice stopped him.

"Don't give me that 'forget it' crap, I want to know."

"I've just been thinking." Pony began again as he sat back down. "I'm going to be a senior next year-"

"Wait, you've only just started eleventh grade and you're already thinking about your senior year?"

"Yeah. Before you know it I'm going to be going off to college, and you know that Darry is going to want to go to college too. Where is that going to leave you? You couldn't afford this house on your own. What are you going to do in a few years?"

Soda then leaned back a little in the couch as he stared at his brother, his eyes narrowed a little.

"Oh, I see. You and Darry will go off to bigger and better things and you're worried what will happen to your loser brother since I ain't as smart-"

"I didn't mean it like that." Pony responded, incredulously.

"How do you mean it?"

"You're not dumb, Soda. That's why I don't get why you dropped out."

"I dropped out because there was no point in continuing to go." Soda almost snapped. Ponyboy had seen his report cards in the past, the bad grades he got and he didn't want to rehash this old conversation. "And it is possible to quit school and not go on to become a hobo. Believe it or not, I do have plans for what I want to do."

From the tone in Sodapop's voice Pony could tell he was upset now. This was the closest they've ever had to an argument in their lives. Ponyboy got up from his seat and walked to the kitchen as Soda picked his magazine back up but before he could continue to look through it…

"Can you believe it's been two years since mom and dad died?" Ponyboy then asked.

It had been two years already. Since that awful day when the police came to tell them they had been in a car accident and they had died instantly. It had been a year since Johnny had killed Bob Sheldon and their hiding out in Windrixville. Where the heck had the time gone?

"Why are you bringing that up?" Soda asked, shifting a little as he now felt uncomfortable.

"It all goes by so fast."

Soda nodded.

"Yeah it does." He agreed.

Ponyboy then turned back around and headed back over to the couch.

"It's just, when I go off to college what's going to happen to everyone? Two-Bit, Johnny…even the Shepard's?"

"They'll make their own choices in what they want to do."

Ponyboy shrugged.

"I guess."

"Is this about Johnny not coming back to school?" Soda then asked. He had found out that Johnny had basically dropped out like he had done and wondered if that had anything to do with Pony talking like this.

"Kinda." He admitted.

"Pony…not everyone is meant to go and do great things. You and Darry will be successful at whatever you do. But Two-Bit and Johnny, Dally…they probably won't. I know it's tough to hear but you can't save everyone. And when you head off to college you'll grow apart from them…people grow apart."

Ponyboy didn't respond, that wasn't making him feel any better.

"And you should." Soda added. "You're too good not to go out and get a better life for yourself."

"So are you."

Soda sighed.

"Don't worry about me, don't worry about tomorrow, don't think about yesterday, and don't live in the future. Just make it through the day and you'll be fine."

Ponyboy looked at him and grinned.

"And you say you're dumb."

"Do you feel better?"

"A little, yeah."

And he did at that moment. Soda then got a wicked idea as he slowly reached down and picked up his cake.

"Good. Now for gods sake, cheer up!"

With the cake in his hand, Soda quickly got up and smashed it down on top of Ponyboy's head. Pony let out a yell of surprise as Soda busted out laughing and tried to run but Pony tackled his legs.

"I'll skin you for that, Sodapop!"

They rolled around on the floor and he grabbed some cake off his head and smashed it into Soda's face. The coffee table got bumped into as they continued to wrestle before they separated from each other and stood up, both simultaneously getting pillows off the couch and began nailing each other with them. Soda went to hit him in the head but Pony ducked and he got the window blinds instead, almost knocking them right off.

Ponyboy then ran around his brother and headed straight for his bedroom with Soda in pursuit. Despite the mess their faces were due to the chocolate cake the two of them were now standing on the bed, the pillow fight resumed as they continued hitting each other until Soda finally tackled Pony, they landed on the bed before rolling once and landing on the floor.

They were now wrestling and tickling each other on the floor, trying to subdue the other long enough to gain the advantage, both laughing their heads off at this point.

As he continued to roughhouse with his brother, every worry and concern that Ponyboy previously had was pushed far from his mind. Because he knew that no matter what awaited him in the years to come, as long as he had Sodapop and Darry in his life things were going to be just fine.

The End.


End file.
